shoot_the_goalie 281 Report post Posted November 7, 2017 Absolutely love FBV (light years better to me than ROH) and currently sharpening with a Blackstone X01. While I love my Blackstone and am pretty experienced with it, I was intrigued by the apparent ease of use and conveience from the Sparx. However, since it doesn't sharpen FBV, that could be a no-go for me. Anyone have experience skating on the Fire radius and FBV? If so, how does the Fire compare to FBV? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2092 Report post Posted November 7, 2017 7 minutes ago, shoot_the_goalie said: Absolutely love FBV (light years better to me than ROH) and currently sharpening with a Blackstone X01. While I love my Blackstone and am pretty experienced with it, I was intrigued by the apparent ease of use and conveience from the Sparx. However, since it doesn't sharpen FBV, that could be a no-go for me. Anyone have experience skating on the Fire radius and FBV? If so, how does the Fire compare to FBV? FBV is a patent held by Blackstone. The FIRE ring would be much closer to the non-patented BFD used by Blademaster and others. This diagram should explain it well enough: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stewie 721 Report post Posted November 7, 2017 I've skated on FBV exclusively for the last few years now since trying them at WF. This last summer, I tried the Sparx Fire cut equivalent, and personally did not like it as much. Used the cut for about 5 skates, then got cut back to FBV. Personally, lack of FBV and large initial investment would keep me from buying a Sparx, even with the convenience factor. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
psulion22 402 Report post Posted November 7, 2017 I'm a little concerned about this myself. I just got an awesome deal on a used Sparx and I'm hoping I'll be ok with the Fire cut. I think I'm going to drop down in sharpness to 1/2F from 95/75 FBV (5/16 eq.) to try and maintain the glide. I figure the ability to keep the edges consistently sharp will offset the slight loss in bite. A fresh 1/2F *should* have the same bite as a 95/75 after 3 or 4 skates. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Swlabr11 69 Report post Posted November 7, 2017 I tried the Fire cut at Summer Jam and instantly loved it. It definitely convinced me to buy a Sparx machine and I've been very happy. I was using 90/50 FBV and now use 5/8 fire. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
darkhors 88 Report post Posted November 7, 2017 Is the 1/2 Fire supposed to be the same as the 100/50 FBV? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmy 194 Report post Posted November 7, 2017 The BFD which the Sparkx copied is nothing like FBV in terms of performance. Not even close. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GoalForFun 176 Report post Posted November 7, 2017 Semi-related, Blackstone would probably make a decent amount of money if they licensed FBV to Sparx (and only Sparx) for use in their home sharpener systems. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2092 Report post Posted November 7, 2017 1 minute ago, GoalForFun said: Semi-related, Blackstone would probably make a decent amount of money if they licensed FBV to Sparx (and only Sparx) for use in their home sharpener systems. I can't see them licensing their patent to a competitor. I mean, obviously it would never happen, I'm aware we're talking hypotheticals of course. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stewie 721 Report post Posted November 7, 2017 1 minute ago, GoalForFun said: Semi-related, Blackstone would probably make a decent amount of money if they licensed FBV to Sparx (and only Sparx) for use in their home sharpener systems. not as much as they would/do make selling their own sharpening units. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GoalForFun 176 Report post Posted November 7, 2017 Are they a direct competitor though? One makes bench sharpeners, the other makes home sharpeners. LHSes are almost always going to go for the bench rig vs an automated one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2092 Report post Posted November 7, 2017 Just now, GoalForFun said: Are they a direct competitor though? One makes bench sharpeners, the other makes home sharpeners. LHSes are almost always going to go for the bench rig vs an automated one. Well not a direct competitor, but Sparx is giving people less reason to continue going to a pro shop to have a 16 year old kid butcher their skates on their big expensive Blackstone ;) 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shoot_the_goalie 281 Report post Posted June 14, 2018 Reviving this thread, to see if anyone has given a greater sample size to FIRE vs FBV.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2092 Report post Posted June 14, 2018 20 minutes ago, shoot_the_goalie said: Reviving this thread, to see if anyone has given a greater sample size to FIRE vs FBV.... What is it you want to know? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shoot_the_goalie 281 Report post Posted June 14, 2018 2 hours ago, IPv6Freely said: What is it you want to know? For those who've had experience with both, which they prefer... now that FIRE has been out there longer... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2092 Report post Posted June 15, 2018 4 hours ago, shoot_the_goalie said: For those who've had experience with both, which they prefer... now that FIRE has been out there longer... BFD has been out for a long time, long before the Sparx came around. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stewie 721 Report post Posted June 15, 2018 Only tried Fire for about 6 skates. Way prefer a true FBV 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stick9 890 Report post Posted June 15, 2018 I've spent a good deal of time on both. The Fire feels nothing like Blackstones FBV. It's more like a ROH with more glide, less bite. For instance, I usually skate on a 3/4 ROH. When i tried the 3/4 Fire I found it to have significantly less bite. I moved down to a 5/8 Fire, which felt more like the 3/4 ROH I was used to. Still not completely sold on the Fire. It's not bad...I was hoping it was closer to Blackstones FBV. I'll probably move back to my normal 3/4 ROH next time around. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
psulion22 402 Report post Posted June 15, 2018 I can pretty much agree with the sentiments on here - Fire is like ROH with a little more glide. I don't find it has less bite than the same ROH, I have 1/2" in both and don't really notice anything. But it's not like FBV that sits on top of the ice and really digs in on the edges. For me it's FBV > Fire > ROH. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marka 526 Report post Posted June 15, 2018 Howdy, 3 hours ago, stick9 said: I've spent a good deal of time on both. The Fire feels nothing like Blackstones FBV. It's more like a ROH with more glide, less bite. For instance, I usually skate on a 3/4 ROH. When i tried the 3/4 Fire I found it to have significantly less bite. I moved down to a 5/8 Fire, which felt more like the 3/4 ROH I was used to. Still not completely sold on the Fire. It's not bad...I was hoping it was closer to Blackstones FBV. I'll probably move back to my normal 3/4 ROH next time around. This matches my experience. I was using 5/8 ROH and went to a 1/2 Fire. Felt about the same to me as the 5/8, not a huge difference either way. It's been quite a while since I used a FBV, so no useful comparisons to that. Mark Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2092 Report post Posted June 15, 2018 2 hours ago, psulion22 said: I can pretty much agree with the sentiments on here - Fire is like ROH with a little more glide. I don't find it has less bite than the same ROH, I have 1/2" in both and don't really notice anything. But it's not like FBV that sits on top of the ice and really digs in on the edges. For me it's FBV > Fire > ROH. Completely agree with this. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bunnyman666 445 Report post Posted June 15, 2018 I like Fire compared to FBV ‘cos I can do that myself... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2092 Report post Posted June 15, 2018 26 minutes ago, bunnyman666 said: I like Fire compared to FBV ‘cos I can do that myself... LOL. Well that’s not a bad reason really. I mean, I loved FBV for sure but I’ll take what I can get! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bunnyman666 445 Report post Posted June 17, 2018 On 6/15/2018 at 3:06 PM, IPv6Freely said: LOL. Well that’s not a bad reason really. I mean, I loved FBV for sure but I’ll take what I can get! Me, too! I miss A-trap; when I had pot luck getting that edge done correctly, the Sparx machine was the answer. Just wish the Sparx machine could do an asymmetrical hollow, which I know is utterly impossible with how the machine is set up. Heck- I had a HUGE learning curve with Step Extreme steel on the Sparx and nearly sent the machine back over my difficulties getting it right. But obviously, I DID get it right! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmy 194 Report post Posted June 18, 2018 On 11/7/2017 at 3:32 PM, Stewie said: I've skated on FBV exclusively for the last few years now since trying them at WF. This last summer, I tried the Sparx Fire cut equivalent, and personally did not like it as much. Used the cut for about 5 skates, then got cut back to FBV. Personally, lack of FBV and large initial investment would keep me from buying a Sparx, even with the convenience factor. What you experienced is what most who are on FBV and then try a BFD or Fire will say. When we are closed or our customers can't make it here, they will go to other shops (who lie and say they do FBV but that's another story). Anyway,they think they are getting the fBV. But after they skate on it they come to our shop as soon after and tell us they hated it or it wasn't as good as our FBV. Totally blind test, I can't even count how many times this has happened. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
